


In Times of Need

by mackyLAL



Category: Kung Fu Panda (Movies)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Gongmen City was rough, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, i couldnt stop thinking about how i would, i love these two, ive never written a fanfic before have mercy, sign up for AO3 just to write about them the other day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-10
Updated: 2020-03-11
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:54:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23082793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mackyLAL/pseuds/mackyLAL
Summary: Po's hardships in Kung Fu Panda 2 reveal a gritty reality to the panda, and has Tigress reflecting on how much they actually have in common. Fluffy, angsty, amateur work.I just HAD to write about these two. For some reason TiPo has been on my head for days now since I re-watched KFP1 and 2, and I just love them so muchshjghf
Relationships: Po & Tigress (Kung Fu Panda), Po/Tigress (Kung Fu Panda)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 102





	1. Dreams

**Author's Note:**

> when I said fluff, I meant in later chapters if any ... I recognize this isn't too fluffy, mostly angsty lol

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Po has night terrors, leading to a conversation with Tigress, in which they both reflect on the past.

## In Times of Need

"NOOOO!" Tigress would have cried out, watching Po be expelled out of the weapon factory in a searing fireball, well off into the harbor. Her voice, her cry, her cry of distress, it shot needles through his body. The sight of the incoming cannonball, etched with words of hellfire--

Po sat up with a gasp and a terror, pleading "No!" at the empty room in front of him. He gripped his chest, staring at the paper walls. Po was greeted only with the silent ambiance of the Chinese mountains at night. The large panda quickly cupped his mouth and looked around, concerned as to if he had alerted any of the other Five, but it seemed his worries were unneeded, or well ...

**CRASH!** Tigress busted into the bedroom with a flying kick to the paper doors, landing with a small slide. "Po! What's wrong?" She said in a hushed way, as though she intended on eliminating the potential intruder without awakening any of her four other companions. He scuffled back in his blanket, holding his head and pursing his lips. "Woa-ho-hooah! It's nothing, Tigress! Nothing, nothing at all..." Tigress was unconvinced. She heard his holler, he sounded like he had been pierced by an arrow, or a poison dart .. of course poison darts didn't work very much on Po. He had been struck in the past, but it seemed his ... excess layers were able to stay the effects of even stronger-end concoctions.

She approached the panda directly, stooping down on a knee, leaning in to examine his condition. He retracted, lifting his blanket with a quirky smirk that quickly faded when Tigress replied with her own sigh. "It's not nothing, is it Po? It's... You're remembering things again..."

_She knows._ Po came to realize, his face falling.

"... Yeah ... I just, I thought for sure that, well, it's been months but I keep dreaming about it. What if I,--"

"Died?" She said, finishing his thought.

"...Tigress?"

Tigress sat down in front of Po after a moment of silence, tentatively cradling her lifted up leg with her two large paws. " ... I've had the same dreams, Po... Imagining having died in that battle, and forgoing my promises to the other four to always be there, and to always be strong. As well as, to stay optimistic, .. like you've said so many times."

Po was caught off guard by her sudden dialogue. Tigress rarely spoke more than one sentence at a time, for the sake of being a silent girl. He sat up, squeezing his blanket gently in one hand, a grimace on his face. "I didn't, know that you experienced things like that? Like ... I kind of thought I was alone. But then again, even Monkey and Viper sometimes seem kind of like, _panicked_ when talking about Gongmen City." Tigress closed her eyes. "Po."  
  


He was going to continue but stopped with a raised lip, staring at Tigress. She reached down, one paw dragging on the fabric of the bed mat, before it found Po's own. She squeezed his paw gently, gathering the panda's attention. He felt his cheeks go pink beneath his white, furry exterior. "I kept re-imagining when I saw you get hit, Po. It... Was truly frightening, I thought I had lost you."

Po was metaphorically thrown off his feet. _Lost me? Why is she putting it like that?_

"I never had a friend before you, Po... Nor someone I confided in, so much." Tigress whispered, closing her eyes and clenching his paw tighter than before. He responded in kind, attempting to gather words, and instead leaning forward, wrapping her in an embrace. She took in a breath but conceded, loosening up, and the emotions started to give way.

"I never want to lose you..." She murmured into the panda's large, soft shoulder. But it was Po who sobbed, Tigress herself not quite at such a level, always having had more internal discipline.

They sat like that for a minute or two, Tigress having returned the favor and wrapped her arms around Po. The squeaking of crickets accompanied their embrace, one more empowered and thought-provoking than the hugs in Gongmen City. She eventually gave way, the two splitting apart. "Will you be alright now? ... Because your holler, woke me up. Next time I won't be kicking the door, but perhaps you."

Tigress's humor brought a big smile to Po's face which he tried his best to wipe off. "I'll be fine, I just, you know, lost my _warrior's composure_ and all. Won't even remember it in the morning, hm." He folded his arms and looked at the wall like a defiant child, which in turn brought a smile to Tigress's face, one she didn't really try to conceal. The orange maiden stood up, walking towards the hole in the bedroom walls. "Good night Po."

He glanced back, settling his head into his bed mat with a relieved sigh. "Night, Tigress..."


	2. Training

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I don't know what I'm doingg ._.

## Training

"Whoo. Come on. What's that? Wha-Huh? Ya can't follow me? Ya can't keep up, my footwork's stellar, I'm on fire! Hoo, hoo--"

Tigress jabbed Po in the nose, "Yeo-howw!" sending him stumbling back. "You get too caught up in the theatrics at times. Focus on your oppoo-!"

The striped warrior was cut off as Po swept her feet out from his fumbling stance, twirling around with superior grace for his size to strike his heel down at her face. Tigress quickly regained her steely composure however, spinning on her head and springing off her paws, kicking Po across the cheek. "Ah!" The panda knelt and lunged back, swiping past Tigress's face and exchanging several blows, of which Tigress either caught in the thick of her tough palms or deflected, guiding his strikes with her forearms.

"I'll admit--that was--a surprise." "A surprise, huh? Heheh, you didn't think I could double-fake-double, distract!" Po remarked, confusing himself with his own word matrix as Tigress leaped up, stepping off his shoulder, landing on her front paws and donkey-kicking him in the back. "Gahh!" He flipped back, landing on his feet with a breath, raising his guard. "You've become so much more nimble since you arrived at the temple that day." Tigress muttered, sinking in her stance. This brought a smile, a small reflection of pride to Po's face. "Training with you and Shifu does that I, guess.. !" He exclaimed, lunging forward with a flying kick, feinting it suddenly and sliding around to thwap Tigress with his forearm. She quickly caught on and sprung back on one foot, blocking the strike and flipping Po overhead with a gelatinous _bwooom'_. "BO-HOHH!"

"Ohh."

Po flopped over, groaning. "Maybe that's ... enough training for today ..." Tigress approached him, kneeling at his side. "You have gotten much, much better. I am impressed." She said frankly, staring at the panda. He lurched upward, returning the gaze, wide-eyed. "You, you really think so?!" Once his enthusiasm surprised her, caught her off guard, even irritated and agitated her, but now she took it as it was. Po was a light-hearted individual filled with positive energy, and she knew her praise meant the world to him. He had a look of pure elation on his face as he clenched his fist in avid joy, silently parading over what he considered was an absolute win from the person whom he admired most.

"Yea-heah! I knew I was onto something! Woo! Do you remember, in the harbor, I was all, _ooo_ and I was, piecing together my inner, and all?"

Tigress tilted her head, intrigued by where he was going with this. "Yes, I remember..."

"Well, that was... I was ... I was reflecting on the people that mattered to me. They were all around me after all. I was thinking, I could not allow Shen to win..." Po sat down on his knees, gazing at his companion. "You couldn't allow Shen to win. Well, I'm glad that _that_ at least, was in your head."

He smiled, looking down at the floor mat. "You gave me strength Tigress."

Her hair stood on end.

"That little, parting hand squeeze, I don't know ..." Po's quirky grin faded slowly. "Master Shifu showed me the concept of inner peace, but like, ... I, couldn't get there without you."

Po extended his paw out and clasped hers in a reversal of the previous night.

"... We should go and eat, Po." Tigress said, staring at her lap in a bid to conceal the redness beneath her striped cheeks. He cocked his head, tilting his face to look up at her. "Is something, did I say something wrong? Oh, man I made it awkward didn't I, aw dangit!" Po shook his head.

"Make some of your special family recipe noodles, please."

"... Okay! Sure, definitely!"


End file.
